Door latch



Jan. 23, 1940. H. H. RAYMOND 2,183,139

boon LATCH Filed Jan. 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HORACE H/PAYMOND Jan. 23, 1940. H. H. RAYMOND 2,188,139

DOOR LATCH Filed Jan. 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HOPA czfifPA MoA/p Patented Jan. 23, 1940 UNITED. STAfrE TENTS o fFic noon LATCH Application January 22', 1938, Serial-N0. 186,342

particularly, to a latch for a. door or other closure.

It is an aim of my invention to provide a latch of the type described having various features of novelty and advantage and which is particularly characterized by its simplicity in construction,

ease of assembly, economy of manufacture, and,

efiiciency of operation.

-It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spring latch having a minimum number of parts and which-may be easily installed in operating position on a door or other movable closure.

andthe scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended'claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like parts are indicated by likanumerals:

Figure 1 is a sectional plan view through a door and door casing showing my latch in secured position;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the latch taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the latch;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 3 and showing the operating handle ,in an open position; Fig.- 4a is a view similar to Fig. 4 and showing the handle in a closed position;

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the latch in secured position and taken substantially along the lines 5 5 of Fig. 1; i 6 is a perspective view showing one of the hand'grip' members forming part of the handle;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the latch bar;

Fig-8 is a perspective view of the frame for supporting the latch mechanism; and

4 Claims. (Cl. 292-424) This invention relates. to a latch and, more A further object of my invention is to provide a door latch .having an operating handle so con 7 outer end with a latching lip Hi having a cam edge 21 thereof being parallel to therear wall Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the spring asso,-.- ciated with my invention. v

Referring to the drawings, the latch is adapt-,, ed to be mounted on the swinging edge of a door I!) which moves into and out of engagement with a 5 a door frame II. The latch casingi I2 is mounted on one side of 'the door and provided. with pivotal handles 25 which may be squeezedto operate a latch bar 44 which projects through 1: and out of the other side of the door and engages 1Q a keeper l5 carried on the door frame; the latch also serving as a knob.

More specifically, the latchcomprises a frame. l3 preferably having a curved front wall 11, a divided rear wall l8, and end walls l9 having- 5', oppositely disposed openings 19' .therethrough .1 adjacent the rear wall and midway between the side. edges in which a transverse pin 24 may be supported. Projecting outwardly and fixed *to the rear wall l8 are projecting posts .28 which 20 are internally threaded to receive securing screws 2| of positioning plate 22.

There is pivotally mounted on pin 24 alatch bar 14 provided with opening 35*intermediate of its ends to receive pivot pin 24, and having an 25 1-; elongated, rearwardly extending latching finger Hlaland a forwardly extending actuator finger Mb. The latching finger is provided near the surface 40. The lower edge of the actuator finger l ib has a corresponding curvature to front plate ll of frame 13, and the edge on the side of lock ing lip M is cutaway to form a spring'retaining lip 33; the latching bar being so positioned on pin 24 that latching finger I la extends through 3 the opening lBa of the divided rear-wall It.

The sides of the casing l2 are adapted to be closed by opposed, hollowed out, symmetrically formed handle members'or grips 25 also pivotally mounted on pin 24. In the embodiment shown, 40 the handles are of a composition, such asBakelite, and are formed with a front wall 26 which has the general curvature of the front platell of frame I3; a portion of the front wall being cut away or stepped to form a stop shoulder 26' midway between the side edges thereof. There is further provided a curved side wall 28; the upper l8 of the frame and the side plate curving down-r wardly and outwardly therefrom to, the point of intersection with the bottom wall 23. The;han--ydle is completed by spaced end ,wallsZll; p le of said end walls being provided with aboss 30 throughwhich there is an alignedopening- 39a andrthe opposite'end wall with a recesstfi hav-- ing a corresponding curvature to that of the boss 30. Intermediate of the end walls and spaced slightly to one side of the center is a second boss 3| having an opening 3la therethrough in alignment with the opening a in boss 30. With the handle so constructed, the boss 30 of one will nest into the recess 30' of the other, and the boss-3l of each will lie intermediate of one end wall and the boss 3| of the other being spaced apart beneath the division of the rear wall l8. It will be seen that when mounted on pin 24 the openings in the bosses are so spaced from the side walls 21 that upper edge 21a will abut the rear plate If! to limit outward movement of the plate, and stop 26' will abut the edge of front plate I! to limit the inner movement thereof. The spacing between bosses 3! further serves to maintain latch bar M centrally located in opening l8a of frame I3.

The assembled latch thus presents a structure of pleasing appearance, for when the latch is secured to the door the base l8 abuts the face of the door and the side members or handles 25 present surfaces curving outwardly from the door to the point of intersection with the front walls of the casing and handles which are similarly curved to present a continuous sweep from one side wall to the other. This is true whether thehandle is in latching position as shown in Fig. 4 or in unlatching position as shown in Fig. 4a.

It is likewise preferable to make the handles of a material which will contrast with the frame and thus further enhance the appearance of the latch, making it suitable for use on doors where pleasing appearance is of importance.

Also pivotally mounted on pin 24 and adapted to position handles 25 and latch bar I i relative to one another is a spring 16 having an oppos'itely disposed coiled portion and angularly disposed spring arms 3'! and 38; the arms 38 being interconnected by a cross member 39. When mounted on the pin 24, the spring arms 31 will abut the inner face of the side wall of one handle member 25 and the cross arm 39 will be receivable over the spring retaining lips 33 of the latch bar M, and, due to the tendency of the spring to expand, the depending part I ia of the latch bar will be maintained in abutting engagement with the inner face of the other handle member 25 to normally hold latching lip M in latching position and the handles pivoted outwardly (see Fig. 4). With this construction, it will be seen that by squeezing the handles inwardly the spring will be compressed and the right handle will move the actuator finger Nb of the latch bar in a clockwise direction (see Fig. 4a.) to move the latching lip It in a clockwise direction and release it from behind a keeper l5 mounted on the door casing; the extent of the inward movement being limited by the shoulders 26' which will engage the edges of the front wall I! of the frame. Although both handles are shown as being pivoted, only the handle which engages the actuator finger of the latch bar need be movable and the other could be fixed.

In attaching the latch to a door, the door is drilled to provide openings for the positioning posts 20 and the latch bar M. The latch bar is then passed through the opening and the post positioned in the openings 20' provided therefor. There is placed over the end of the latch bar a positioning plate 22 provided with a slot 22' through which the latch bar projects. Screws 2| are then passed through suitable openings in the positioning plate 22 and screwed into the positioning posts 20 to secure the latch in place. It is apparent that the door may vary considerably in thickness, but with this arrangement the length of the screws 2| will take care of such variations. When secured in place, it will be seen that the latch serves not only as a latching means but as a knob. To open the door it is only necessary to squeeze in on the handles 25 whereupon the parts will assume the position shown in Fig. 4a and latching lip M will be moved in a clockwise direction to clear keeper plate l5, whereupon the door may be opened. Upon release of handles 25, the latching bar will return to latching position. However, as the door swings to closed position, the cammed surface 40 will ride over keeper plate l5, camming the latch bar in a clockwise direction to cause it to automatically re-engage behind the keeper plate I5.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A latch comprising an open sided casing, means carried by said casing for removably securing same to a door, a pin transversely arranged inside the casing and supported by the end walls thereof, a pair of members providing the side walls of the casing, one of said members being pivotally mounted on the pin and movable relative to the other, a latch bar pivotally mounted on the pin and having a part extending out of the casing and a part within the casing, and a spring coiled about the pin and having one end engaging the latch bar within the casing to normally hold it in engagement with the movable wall member, and the other end engaging the other wall member whereby movement of said movable wall member will actuate said latch bar.

2. A latch comprising a substantially rectangular open sided frame having a divided base wall, means carried by the base for removably securing the frame to a door, a pin transversely arranged inside the frame and supported by the end walls thereof, a pair of handle members pivotally mounted on the pin and movable relative to one another, said members closing the sides of the frame, a latch bar pivotally mounted on the pin and having a latching finger extending out of the frame and an actuator finger within the frame, said actuator finger normally engaging one of the handle members, and a spring coiled about thepin and having one end engaging the actuator finger of the latch bar and the other end engaging the opposite handle member whereby movement of said handle member engaged by said actuator finger towards the other will actuate said latch bar.

3. A latch comprising a frame, means for removably securing the frame to a door, a pinthe frame, a pair of a latch bar pivotally mounted on the pin and having a part extending outside the frame and a part within the frame, and spring means coiled about the pin and having one end abuttingone of said handle members and the other end. engaging the inner part of the latch bar within the frame to normally maintain it in engagement with the opposite handle member whereby uponmovement of said handle members towards each other said latch bar will be actuated.

4. In a door latch, a substantially rectangular shaped frame having a divided base wall, means carried by the base wall for removable fastening the frame to a door, a pivot pin mounted in the frame and supported by the end walls thereof, a pair of duplicate hand gripping members, respectively provided with spaced end walls interconnected by curved front and side walls, said side walls having laterally projecting bosses extending into the frame and journalled on the pin to support said members in reversed relation for swinging movement towards and from each other, a latch bar pivotally mounted on said pin between corresponding bosses of said hand gripp-ing members, said bar having a portion extending into the frame and engageable with one of said gripping members, a spring supported on said pin and engaging said bar and the gripping member opposite thereto whereby said. bar is urged into latching position and said gripping members are urged away from each other and limiting means on said gripping members controlling the movement thereof in the frame.

HORACE H. RAYMOND. 

